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With help from Darius Dixon, Darren Goode, Andrew Restuccia and Talia Buford

GOP WANTS MORE FROM JEWELL: REI CEO Sally Jewell won bipartisan praise for her broad experience at her confirmation hearing yesterday, but Republicans said President Barack Obama’s nominee for Interior secretary left a lot of questions unanswered. “I think it is clear that she has some areas that she needs to get up to speed on and understand,” Energy and Natural Resources ranking member Lisa Murkowski said afterward. “There’s some areas that there’s some gaps in understanding what actually comes with this portfolio. Doesn’t mean that she can’t learn it.”

The Alaska Republican said Jewell appeared a bit nervous during the first half of the three-hour hearing, although Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) was more blunt. “She seems underprepared for the range of questions from both Republicans and Democrats,” Barrasso said afterward. Darren Goode has the play-by-play from yesterday’s confirmation hearing: http://politico.pro/XW0y8L

HAPPY FRIDAY and welcome to Morning Energy, where we’re headed down south to the land of the pines, thumbin’ our way into North Caroline. While your usual host is down south, Talia Buford is kindly filling in on Monday — so send your energy news to her at tbuford@politico.com, and follow her on Twitter @TaliaBuford, @POLITICOPro and @Morning_Energy.

INTERIOR’S REVIEW OF SHELL ARCTIC OPERATIONS CONCLUDES SOON: Saturday marks the official 60-day mark the Interior Department gave itself for an “expedited” review of Shell’s Arctic drilling program after it suffered several missteps — including the drilling rig Kulluk running aground while being towed out of the state. The review was to be led by BOEM Director Tommy Beaudreau with help from the Coast Guard. An Interior official said the department is on time to deliver the report to Secretary Ken Salazar, and that it will be released publicly after he has reviewed it. The 60-day mark also comes a little over a week since Shell announced it was pulling all Arctic drilling plans for this summer

TERRY’S NEW KEYSTONE BILL LIMITS JUDICIAL REVIEW: At first glance, a new draft bill released yesterday by Rep. Lee Terry (R-Neb.) looked about the same as others he has offered authorizing the Keystone XL pipeline. But a closer look unveils new details from the past on limiting future judicial review of the project. The bill includes a judicial review section mirroring language in the 2004 Alaska Natural Gas Pipeline Act giving exclusive jurisdiction to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, creating a 60-day deadline for filing a claim and limiting the challenges that can be brought against the project, according to a fact sheet provided by Energy and Commerce Republicans: http://1.usa.gov/ZiQJmJ

So what does that mean? It takes on challenges that could be filed under the Endangered Species Act regarding the American burying beetle by deeming existing environmental reviews as complying with ESA and allowing for an incidental take permit for the construction and operation of the pipeline. It does not waive ESA or delist the beetle. The bill also grants a right-of-way and temporary use permit across 42 miles of BLM land in Montana, grants permits under the Clean Water Act and Rivers and Harbors Act and prohibits interference from EPA. That would occur not later than 90 days after an application is filed with the Army Corps of Engineers. And a special purpose permit would be granted under the Migratory Bird Act, citing an application already filed with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

THE FINAL COUNTDOWN (HASN’T STARTED YET): Those of you jonesing to comment on the draft SEIS released last week, you’re going to have to wait a little while longer. The 45-day comment period doesn’t begin until EPA posts the review on its website — a process that takes about a week, according to the State Department. The report was released last Friday, marking today as the one-week-iversary. A State Department spokeswoman said yesterday that the agency has yet to schedule a hearing in Nebraska as it waits for EPA to post the document and start the clock. EPA didn’t get back to ME last night about when it plans to post the review.

DOUBLE THE ENERGY BUDGET, BILL GATES SAYS: Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates called on policymakers to double the U.S. energy budget Thursday night during a talk at the annual IHS CERAWeek conference in Houston. “It’s nowhere near what it should be, particularly given the imperatives that we face,” he said, referring to the amount the country invests in research and development. He added later, “It’s an incredible travesty that we’re spending so little,” saying it’s important to invest more in solar, nuclear power and carbon capture and sequestration. “Energy is so darn interesting and so darn important,” Gates added.

So corny: Gates also took aim at ethanol subsidies, applauding Congress for eliminating them. “Intelligence won out in that case,” he said, joking that it took "an IQ of 80" to realize it was a bad idea.

MICHIGAN DOESN’T WANT WANXIANG GETTING A123’S TAX CREDITS: The state of Michigan is asking a bankruptcy court to block Wanxiang from gaining over $125 million in state tax credits after buying lithium-ion battery-maker A123. Wall Street Journal: “A123, which was awarded nearly $250 million in grants from the Department of Energy, also received more than $125 million in tax credits from the state as an incentive to hire local residents at the company's two Michigan manufacturing factories. But those credits can't be transferred to Wanxiang, according to lawyers for the Michigan attorney general. Wanxiang paid $256.6 million for A123's automotive-battery business and related assets in December.” WSJ: http://on.wsj.com/14yOLOy

SPEAKING OF MICHIGAN: Sen. Carl Levin won’t run for another term in 2014, he announced yesterday. James Hohmann has more: http://politi.co/10dTu7J. The news comes just one day after the Sierra Club’s Michigan chapter Director Anne Woiwode called on Levin to pressure President Obama to reject Keystone XL: http://bit.ly/WJzasf

ANTI-NUKES GROUP OPPOSES MONIZ OVER USEC INVOLVEMENT: The anti-nuclear group Beyond Nuclear has found another reason to oppose Energy secretary nominee Ernest Moniz: His past membership on the Strategic Advisory Council of the uranium enrichment firm USEC. “There is not much likelihood that Moniz's nomination will be opposed, but Beyond Nuclear and other groups deplore his selection at a time when the country should be focused on full-scale development and implementation of renewable energy, energy efficiency and conservation,” the group wrote on its website: http://bit.ly/ZikunJ

Background info: Moniz sat on USEC’s council from 2002 to 2004, which was chaired by colleague and former CIA Director John Deutch at the time. He was also at the Energy Department as energy undersecretary when the agency implemented the 1992 law that privatized USEC a few years later — a time when he said “vigorous discussion” occurred over whether some aspect of USEC’s privatization should be reconsidered in light of nonproliferation agreements later signed with Russia. POLITICO’s previous reporting of Moniz’s comments about USEC: http://politico.pro/WNxWw7

BP TRIAL UPDATE: From the Times-Picayune: An oil well cementing expert told a federal judge Thursday that BP should not have proceeded with the cement job the day before the ill-fated Macondo well blew out, despite knowing the hazards involved. ‘Based on the culmination of all of the risks, again, I'll repeat, I don't see how you could pump this job in the well and expect it to form a barrier,’ Glen Benge, an independent consultant on oil-field cementing who was called as an expert witness by the Department of Justice, testified.” TP: http://bit.ly/10e8bHN

LCV DROPS MORE THAN $28,000 SUPPORTING MARKEY: The League of Conservation Voters has spent $28,686.13 on independent expenditures supporting Ed Markey’s Senate run, according to FEC documents. That includes $21,500 on polling by Public Policy Polling and Peter D. Hart Research Associates, $2,500 for turnout modeling and more than $100 on office supplies.

SCIENCE UPDATE: The New York Times reports on a new study in the journal Science that says global temperatures are warmer than at any time in at least four millennia. “Previous research had extended back roughly 1,500 years, and suggested that the rapid temperature spike of the past century, believed to be a consequence of human activity, exceeded any warming episode during those years. The new work confirms that result while suggesting the modern warming is unique over a longer period.” NYT: http://nyti.ms/YQ44OV

SMITH PRESSES EPA ON BRISTOL BAY: House Science Committee Republicans want a briefing from EPA on the agency’s review draft Bristol Bay watershed assessment to get details on the extended review. They also want to know how much EPA has spent on the assessment, which staff members are involved and where the agency gets its authority. Groups opposed to the potential Pebble Mine are pushing EPA to issue a preemptive veto of a Clean Water Act permit; the company has not yet applied. The assessment "appears as though EPA is selectively using its authority to conduct scientific assessments to create regulatory burdens," Science Chairman Lamar Smith and Rep. Paul Broun write in a letter dated Wednesday: http://politico.pro/Z3OvW5

K&L GATES ADDS LNG ATTORNEYS: The lobbying firm K&L Gates LLP has picked up Steven C. Sparling and David L. Wochner of Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP for their energy practice. Both specialize in liquefied natural gas; Sparling specializes in LNG's legal, operational and commercial aspects, while Wochner focuses on regulatory, policy and transaction issues, according to the firm.

FUN FACT: This weekend everyone’s clocks spring forward an hour — and it happens this early in the year because of Reps. Ed Markey and Fred Upton. The pair added a provision into the Energy Policy Act of 2005 moving the switchover date up by three weeks, an attempt to help save electricity by providing more sunlight during evening hours.

QUICK HITS

— The EPA does not use unmanned drones, contrary to Sen. Rand Paul’s assertion during his recent filibuster. Stephanie Gaskell and Leigh Munsil: http://politico.pro/10ezqSG

— Scientific American sits down for a Q&A with acting ARPA-E Director Cheryl Martin: http://bit.ly/XW5KcR

— Conservationists and the Havasupai Tribe are suing the Forest Service over the approval of a uranium mine near the Grand Canyon. AP: http://bit.ly/XZdW9V

— James River Coal Co. is idling five mines and lowering coal production by 3 million tons after a fourth-quarter net loss of $76.9 million. BusinessWeek: http://buswk.co/ZjSEnm

— The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species rejected a U.S. proposal to ban international trade of polar bears and their parts. AP: http://usat.ly/YfvA8L

THAT’S ALL FOR ME. Have a great weekend.

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